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It’s been a while since I participated in Timeless Thoughts, which is a linkup hosted by Tara and Georgie! I have been scanning old photos lately and have been thinking back on my time as a child in New York.

Back in December, I wrote about my aunt’s passing and about how my dad’s side of the family is very close. Growing up, we used to have get-togethers all the time at my paternal grandparents’ house in Brooklyn. Sadly, we sold the house after my grandpa passed away (my grandma moved in with one of my uncles), so I actually haven’t seen it in almost 20 years. Even without the photos, I can remember their place very well.

If you’ve never been to Brooklyn before, a lot of the neighborhoods look like this, with houses that are 2-3 stories (not including the basement) and can consist of 2-3 apartments. My grandparents owned theirs, so they lived on the first floor and rented out the apartments above.

I started with City of Heroes in college with friends, and we also played a bit of City of Villains later on. City of Heroes was a brand new world to me. I didn’t have prior experience with online games, and it was a weird feeling to suddenly be surrounded by so many strangers. I was so terrible at first and got lost and died on the way to our first mission. It also made me realize that the online world isn’t always negative. When that happened, an experienced player ran over to revive and help me! (And then I had issues figuring out how to /whisper back to thank the person XD;;)

Also, City of Heroes/Villains were not your traditional MMOs. They were known for being able to design your character’s look and costume, so there was no gear to get… otherwise, you’d cover up your costume! Instead, there was an enhancements system for your powers. Player-run costume contests were pretty common in the game. Instead of a mount system, you chose what super power your hero/villain would use to get around: super speed, super jump, flight, or teleportation.